A Giveaway of The Vineart War Trilogy by Laura Anne Gilman

 

This is a great trilogy, Flesh and Fire; Weight of Stone and culminating with The Shattered Vine.

I will be giving away a copy of  Flesh and Fire, the week of October 3rd

A copy of, Weight of Stone, will be given away the week of October 10th.

A copy of The Shattered Vine, will be given away the week of publication day, Oct. 18th!

This is a terrific trilogy that is a must read.  Read my Flesh and Fire review to see why I gave it five dragons.

Now you have the opportunity to read it your self for FREE!

This is a very simple giveaway that is over. 

The Hum and The Shiver by Alex Bledsoew

This book features an insular clan of slightly askew folks whose talents for music dominate their lives.  A mysterious clan that chooses to avoid society at large and has secrets that are never to be told.

Bronwyn Hyatt is a likeable rebel in this book.  She tried to escape her fate and her family.  Her unwillingness to accept authority resonated with me and I’m sure with many others.   Her personal habits are meant to shock and yet if you flipped her gender her behavior would be lauded by many men.  

The premise of the book is very thought provoking.  This review is difficult because some of the more interesting factors would definitely be spoilers.  If you enjoy Thomas Tryon and some of Stephen King’s less flamboyant books, you will enjoy this music prone mystery.

I highly recommend it.

Body of work of Alex Bledsoe

Web Site: http://alexbledsoe.com/

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick: A Guest Post

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

The science fiction genre owes so much to Philip K. Dick. More than just interesting settings and quirky plot juxtapositions (juxtaposed from today's society that is), Dick's novels explored sociological, political, and metaphysical themes. His work also tends to be a bit dark and dystopian, filled with monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments, and altered states of mind. His classic novel, A Scanner Darkly, deals with just about all of these things.

The plot of A Scanner Darkly is beautifully twisted. It follows two main characters. Bob Arctor is a drug dealer who uses a powerful psychoactive drug known as Substance D. Agent Fred is an undercover officer working with LAPD to bust a big-time dealer of Substance D, Bob Arctor.

Now, Substance D causes the two hemispheres of the brain to function independently and compete. And what you very quickly realize as you get into the novel is that Bob Arctor and Agent Fred are actually the same person. At first Bob/Fred realizes the bureaucratic mistake, but the twist is that, due to the effects of Substance D, Arctor and Fred don't realize that they're the same person.

Agent Fred studies Arctor through different surveillance channels. Arctor, through an imbalance of paranoia and the reality of the situation, fears that he is being spied on. All of this gives a very interesting and unsettling take on the nature of shifting identity and the destruction of the self through drug abuse.

Beyond explorations of self, the novel also examines the corruptive capabilities of law enforcement as well as the corruptive capabilities of modern pharmaceutical and rehabilitation facilities. This book is very much a commentary of the bleak drug-abuse culture as well as the poor responses to this culture enforced by law enforcement, the government, and business.

Much of the book is written in a very frank manner, similar to that of Hemmingway. Dick nails the drug-abuse culture on the head, probably because of his own close history with drug abuse. And there are also so very rare moments of extremely intense imagery: beautiful, unsettling, and always surreal.

About five years ago, the book was adapted into a film that was directed by Richard Linklater. The style of animation for this film is truly amazing and the plot and interpretation stays true to the novel as well. I recommend both works for anyone interested in a unique story with deep insight on drug culture and how our society responds to it.

By-line:

Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com.

My thanks to Mariana for this guest post. 

Free Book

One of the most successful advertising words is FREE.   I am running a multi-part series on Lory Kaufman’s The World Of History Camp.   Lory is offering one FREE copy of The Lens and the Looker for each month.  

What’s the catch? 

Nothing!! 

No catch, you have to fill out the 3 block form with name, address and email address. 

What do I want that for and how am I going to use it?

I am not some faceless conglomerate (Note photo on top right of blog, that is really me! Trust me, if it wasn’t me I would have found some young stud with a full head of hair to be me.) trying to capture your name, address and email address to bombard you with spam.  I need your address to send you the book if you win and I need your email to let you know you have won.   If you just want to put Occupant in the name, feel free, I am not, repeat, I AM NOT going to use your email address for anything else.   Lory will be mailing the book to the winners.   That is the only person who will get your address.  (Maybe his publicist, I really don’t know who is actually, physically going to mail the book).
 

So far I have one person who has responded to the giveaway.   I will be happy to give them the book but it does mean that the odds of actually getting the book are pretty darn good.  

So…GET YOUR FREE BOOK HERE!  READY TO READ!  HOT OFF THE PRESS! 

Cowboys and Aliens Movie Well Worth Seeing

I’ve seen some unkind reviews on Cowboys and Aliens.  Well, as far as I’m concerned, I think they whine and complain overly much.   It is not portrayed as a metaphor for modern life or a critique of the current political turmoil.   It is a summer movie, designed for entertainment value!

It has entertainment value up the old whazoo!  (I’ve often wondered who coined that expression and why?)  There are cowboys, Indians, gun fights, girls, a saloon and did I mention aliens?  Ugly, evil, nasty aliens who are intent on killing everyone in sight abound in disturbing numbers. 

I heard one comment that there wasn’t enough action and there was too much romance.   I have to wonder if they were in the same movie I was in.   There is a love interest but the movie overflows with testosterone and violent demises.  

It was entertaining and a great way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon!

BTW the Amazon ad is for the book by Joan Vinge, which I have not read but if it is vintage Vinge I am willing to bet it is well worth reading!

The Santa Club by Kelly Moss, Illustrated by Jim Keserich

This is a children’s book that adroitly ties Santa Claus and Jesus Christ together.

I’m always a bit skeptical of books that proselytize but this is not heavy handed or over evangelical. I liked the way the author cautions the reader that they shouldn’t breach the faith in Santa. In addition Ms. Moss ties the love of God and the origins of Christmas gift giving together in an eminently satisfying manner.

This book should help younger children to maintain the belief system in Santa for a longer period of time. It also may introduce the concepts of God, Christ, loving and giving to an audience that may not be familiar with those Christian concepts.

Any mention of Jesus Christ is certain to offend a portion of the population, my advice then is not to buy the book. For the rest of the world that is more open minded this book may be an excellent Christmas gift. The world would be a much nicer place if we all belonged to The Santa Club.

I highly recommend it.

Body of work of Kelly Moss

Web site: http://thesantaclub.net/kelly-moss/

Wildfire by Karsten Knight

A group of somewhat troubled prep-school  kids find themselves bonding in a manner that they never expected. 

This is one of those books that make it difficult to write a review without inadvertently providing some spoilers.   I diligently avoid spoilers and will attempt to continue that behavior.  

Ashline Wilde is an adopted child having difficulties blending in a white bread, homogenous school environment.  She seems a bit pugnacious but otherwise reasonably normal as if any teenager doesn’t stretch the boundaries of  what adults consider normal.   She is involved in an unfortunate situation that leads to seeking asylum across the country in a prestigious prep-school

She meets and makes new friends at Blackwood Academy but discovers that those she is closest to have secrets as devastating as her own.   The propensity for supernatural in so many YA books is well established.   The presence of supernatural beings in this book is introduced in a more plausible manner (if that is possible) than in many I have read.

The only thing I find revolting is how young Karsten Knight seems to be.   How dare he write such a good book, at such a young age and force me to admit I liked it. 

So reluctantly, I recommend the book and look forward to the necessary sequel(s).   Seriously it is a well crafted and enjoyable YA book. 

I recommend it. 

Body of work of Karsten Knight

Web site:  http://www.karstenknight.com/

Make sure you visit the web site, it is well done too.